March 25, 2014

Fort Worth police getting more collar-mounted video cameras

The number of police officers wearing video cameras will triple with the City Council’s approval on Tuesday of the purchase of 400 additional devices, according to an update from Staff writer Deanna Boyd.

The purchase will equip 600 officers with Taser International’s Axon flex cameras, making the police department the largest user of the Axon cameras in the country.

“The advantages are multiple,” said Police Chief Jeff Halstead. “For first-level patrol officers that are young in their careers … this ensures that their decisions and their activities were fair and within policy.

"Without it, it is literally sometimes just their word against what we’re hearing from either the call, the suspect or the witnesses."